(Reuters) -Investors of Nestlé asked for the resignation of the president of the Swiss agrifood giant, Paul Bulcke, after the departure of a second general manager in just over a year, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
Group shareholders told the FT that the dismissal of former director general Laurent Freixe and the way in which the investigations on his conduct were dealt with exacerbated their concerns about the governance of Nestlé and led them to question Bulcke’s decision -making.
“I don’t think Bulcke will leave before April, but he should have left when Mark Schneider [ancien directeur général de Nestlé ayant quitté le groupe en 2024] was ousted, “Times Alexandre Stucki, founder of AS Investment Management, who represents family founding investors of Nestlé, told Financial Times.
Nestlé did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
The Swiss food giant suddenly dismissed Laurent Freixe in early September for having omitted to reveal a romantic relationship with a subordinate.
Laurent Freixe’s dismissal occurred a year after the sudden departure of his predecessor, Mark Schneider, and two and a half months after Paul Bulcke said that he would leave his duties next year.
A spokesperson for Nestlé told Financial Times that the successive departures of the two former directors general were not linked and that the conduct of Laurent Freixe constituted a manifest violation of his code of conduct.
Paul Bulcke, a 70 -year -old Belgian and Swiss national who chairs the Board of Directors of Nestlé since April 2017, joined the group in 1979 and held the position of Director General of the company from 2008 to 2016.
Support for Paul Bulcke has faded due to the doubts about the resumption of Nestlé after the pandemic, said investors in Reuters in July, sales volumes of the largest manufacturer of packaged food weakening in 2023 while it increased prices to compensate for the rise in raw materials.
In April, Paul Bulcke had been re -elected with 84.8 % of the vote, which represents a considerable drop compared to almost 96 % that he had obtained in 2017.
(Report by Preetika Parashuraman in Bangalore; Versin française Florence Lève)
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